Adults: Breeding Black all ove with a green and purple iridescence except for brown wash on tail and wings. Eye, brown. Bill, yellow. Feet, dirty brown. Non-breeding: Speckled buff above and white bolw over black. Bill, dull brown.
Introduced to Australia. Well established and common virtually throughout the south-eastern states, from near Rockhampton, Qld to the Eyre Peninsula, SA.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is 310,000,000 (2010).
Food
Insects, spiders, worms and molluscs make up much of their diet. Fruit makes up much of the rest. Mostly insects and their larvae during the breeding season. Also seeds, fruit and nectar.
Voice
Call: A 'tsiew' and 'tcherr'. Harsh, rasping ‘tch-cheer’ in alarm. Sharp ‘dik’ or ‘chik-ik-ik’ by squabbling birds. Song: Prolonged series of wheezes, clicks and rattles, interspersed with long descending whistles. A lively medley of whistles, gurgles and mimicry.
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) [XC841372]
by Lee Alder from M\u00f6rk\u00f6, S\u00f6dermanland, Sweden (song)
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) [XC832733]
by Simon Oberhofer from Neckartailfingen, Ziegelhalde, Stuttgart, Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg, Germany (begging call)
Nest
A bulky, untidy assortment of straw and feathers, placed in a hole in a tree, in a crevice in a building or similar situation.
Eggs (Guide)
4 – 8; pale blue; oblong-oval; about 30 x 21 mm. Incubation: 10 – 12 days; by both sexes.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 3 weeks.
Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor). Formerly considered conspecific with Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor).
One introduced into Australia from England.
The following 13 subspecies are recognised:
vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 - Breeds from Iceland east to Ural Mts, south to northern and north-eastern Spain, southern Italy, south-eastern Europe and northern Ukraine, also on Canary Is. Non-breeding also south throughout Iberia and to northern Africa.
faroensis Feilden, 1872 - Faroe Is.
zetlandicus Hartert, 1918 - Shetland Is.
granti Hartert, 1903 - Azores.
poltaratskyi Finsch, 1878 - Breeds eastern Ural Mts east to L Baikal, soth to northern and eastern Kazakhstan, northern Kirghiz Steppes and through northern Dzungaria to western Mongolia.
tauricus Buturlin, 1904 - Southern and eastern Ukraine and Crimea east to southern Russia (Stavropol), and Asia Minor (except eastern). Non-breeding also Middle East.
caucasicus Lorenz, T, 1887 - Volga Delta, northern Caucasus and eastern Transcaucasia, Azerbaijan, southern Caspian Sea region and western and southern Iraq.
purpurascens Gould, 1868 - Western Transcaucasia, eastern Turkey, Georgia and Armenia. Non-breeding also Egypt.
oppenheimi Neumann, 1915 - South-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq.
porphyronotus Sharpe, 1888 - Breeds eastern Kazakhstan and extreme north-western China (western Xinjiang) south to eastern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Non-breeding northern Indian Subcontinent.
nobilior Hume, 1879 - Breeds north-eastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan and northern Afghanistan. Non-breeding north-western Indian Subcontinent.
humii Brooks, WE, 1876 - Breeds western Himalayas (from Kashmir east to Garhwal).
minor Hume, 1873 - Pakistan (Indus valley).
Similar Species
Common Blackbird (Turdus merula), which has a longer tail and hops rather than walks, Metallic Starling (Aplonis metallica). In flight can resemble woodswallows.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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